The changing of the guard at MoF
The criteria used in selecting finance ministers have developed a distinctly partisan flavour in Pakistan. All three major national political parties that have formed a government at the centre during…
Spending without due process not advised
the first quarter), (ii) social sector disbursements were less than one percent of the total 190 billion rupees budgeted for the year due to an ongoing survey, and (iii) revenue…
Discount rate at 11pc – is that enough? — II
The reported claim by the SBP Governor and Dr Hafeez Sheikh that the main selling point for a high discount rate is its linkage to the rate payable by the…
Critical appraisal of SBP report
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) report for the first half of the current financial year reiterated its unconditional support for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme conditions – a…
Pre-budget 2020-21 random thoughts — I
Pakistani budgets require little executive input, so argue Ministry of Finance officials, as there is little flexibility in terms of changing allocation priorities while revenue generation remains hostage to the…
Pre-budget 2020-21 random thoughts — II
This is the second of a two part series of articles highlighting some random thoughts on the Covid-19 relief package and its implications on the budget 2020-21. GDP growth is…
Budget 2020-21
The Ministry of Finance headed by Prime Minister’s Advisor on Finance Dr Hafeez Sheikh incorporated most of the expenditure and revenue targets set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in…
Pandemic and inflation
Aggregate demand must be curtailed to contain the rate of inflation, a theory fully supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme design, and…
IMF and the stalled second tranche
Questions are being raised as to when the 6 billion dollar International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility programme will resume, suspended post-March 2020 to enable the administration to deal…
SBP profits rise and need for caution!
Pakistan’s budgetary financing operations (federal and provincial) July-June 2019-20 were released on Wednesday – the day after the briefing on the data to the cabinet on 11 August 2020. Prime…
